The Atlanta Hawks (34-34) meet with the Southeastern Division co-tenant Charlotte Hornets (34-35) Wednesday at Spectrum Center for a 7 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we look at the Hawks vs. Hornets odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Atlanta won its third consecutive game Monday by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 122-113 at home but couldn’t cover as a 14-point favorite. The Hawks are 5-3 straight up (SU) and 1-7 against the spread (ATS) over the last two weeks.
Charlotte has won back-to-back road games at the New Orleans Pelicans Friday (142-120) and Oklahoma City Thunder Monday (134-116). The Hornets are 4-2 SU and ATS with the only two losses being against the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics over the last 14 days.
The Hawks are 2-1 SU and ATS versus the Hornets this season and the total is 1-2 Over/Under (O/U).
Hawks at Hornets odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:50 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Hawks -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Hornets -105 (bet $105 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Hawks -1.5 (-102) | Hornets +1.5 (-122)
- Over/Under: 239.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Hawks at Hornets key injuries
Hawks
- PF John Collins (foot) out
- PF Danilo Gallinari (Achillies) probable
Hornets
- None
[tipico]
Hawks at Hornets odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Hornets 124, Hawks 116
Money line
BET the HORNETS (-105) unless their ML goes above -160 at which point I’d bet Charlotte’s spread.
The Hornets rank 15th in adjusted net rating and the Hawks rank 16th, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG), but Atlanta struggles against middle-of-the-pack teams. The Hawks are 7-17 SU with a minus-5.4 adjusted net rating versus mid-tier teams (ranked 24th), per CTG.
Hornets PG LaMelo Ball has also outplayed Hawks PG Trae Young in their four career head-to-head meetings.
Their teams are tied 2-2 SU and Trae narrowly leads Ball in points per game (17.8-17.3) in those meetings. However, Ball is outshooting Trae 42.4-33.3% from the field, outrebounding him 8.8-3.8 and throwing more assists (7.8-6.5) and fewer turnovers (4.5-1.8).
Since there’s not a lot separating these two sides, I’ll TAKE the HORNETS (-105) because they are at home and the best player on the floor.
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Against the spread
The HORNETS +1.5 (-122) is the right side but I prefer Charlotte’s ML.
The Hawks are an NBA worst 10-23 ATS on the road and are 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 visits to Charlotte and 0-6 ATS in their last six games. Also, Atlanta has a minus-4.3 ATS margin versus teams in the middle-10 of net efficiency (ranked 29th), per CTG.
Over/Under
PASS because there isn’t a big enough margin between my prediction and the projected total to call it either way.
If one team has an off-shooting quarter then an Over bet is in peril. However, it’s hard to take the Under given how good each team is from 3-point range and how bad both defenses are versus 3-pointers.
Furthermore, the Under has cashed in five of the last six Hawks-Hornets meetings.
Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, Sportsbook Wire’s official sportsbook partner in CO, NJ and soon IA. Bet now!
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional NBA sports coverage:
HoopsHype | Celtics Wire | LeBron Wire | Lonzo Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]